Air-distributing apparatus for ventilating systems



A ril 22, 1941. E. A. SIPP ETAL 2,239,508

AIR-DISTRIBUTING APPARATUS FOR VENTILATING SYSTEMS I Filed Dec. 15, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheatl Edward a. g; z/ 7 jfiayai Z. lead a g e?" Z 4.. o 0 o m; 0 O a M M w o o f O N a v p l 1941-v E. A. SIPP EIAL 2,239,503

AIR-DISTRIBUTING APPARATUS FOR VENTILATINGUSYSTEMS Filed Dec. 15, 19:58 a Sheets-Sfieet 2 Fatenteel 22; w ll pulse Aid-DESUTING APPARATUS FOR VENTILATING SYSTEMS Edward A. Slut, Oak Park, and Ralph L. Leadhetter, Wheaten, lib, assignors, by mesne a.s signments, to Burgess Battery Company, Chicage, lili., a corporation of Delaware application December 15, 1938, Serial No. 245,942

1 Claim. (El. Bil-4.0) This invention concerns the distribution of ventilating air into enclosures.

The manner of introduction of the air into an enclosure to be ventilated has an important hearing on the suitability of every ventilating system. A number of factors must be considered and much ingenuity has heretofore been applied in the solution of the many problems involved in this operation. The dimculties to be overcome have been greatly multiplied by the advent of air conditioning whereby the ventilating air is cooled when required to maintain the desired conditions within the enclosure. An ideal air-distributing arrangement is one which delivers conditioned ventilating air into the enclosure in suficient quantities without concomitant formation of sensible drafts and which will maintain uniformity within the enclosure with respect to temperature, humidity and wholesomenessof the air.

Divers forms of apparatus have been developed r and commercially adopted which are capable of Fig. 5 is a. detailed sectional view taken at 5-5 of Fig. 4; 1

Fig. 6 is a detailed view showing in section and elevation a further embodiment of the invention; Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken at 1-? of Fig. 6

and showing the air-diffusing element; and

would otherwise be available for use by the .per-

sons or materials within the enclosure. Some of these forms are not adapted for installation in completed buildings.

It is anobject of this invention to provide airdistributing apparatus which will distribute a predetermined quantity of ventilating air into an enclosure withoutdrafts and which will opcrate to so distribute the air that uniform condi tions of temperature, humidity and wholesome ness will obtain within the space. Further ob jects include the provision of such apparatus in a simple and inexpensive form which occupies only a negligible part of the space of the enclosure and which is readily adapted to use in completed buildings or vehicles as well as installation in the course of erection of the structure.

In the accompanying drawings,

Fig.v 1 is a perspective view, partly in section, illustrating a room equipped wlthone form of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a detailed view showing in section and elevation a difi'erent embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 3 is adetailed sectional view of a further embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary plan view of the distributor of Fig. 3;

Fig. 8 is another view of the air-diffusing element of Fig. 6.

An installation embodying the simplest formof the invention is illustrated, installed, in Fig. 1. A triangular duct is formed of sheet metal duct walls! and air-distributing element 2. The duct is arranged as a cornice at the junction of the Nu-Wood or Masonite, is used as the air distrib-,

utor in this embodiment of the invention. Sheet metal walls I of the duct are bent inwardly to formretaining flanges 5, and B for holding the distributing element 2 in position. Any suitable means may be used to hold it in position, it being convenient to install the sheet metal and thereafter insert the distributing element. vIn the particular embodiment shown a guide strip l is soldered to the metal duct wall 4 and, in assembling, the lower edge of distributing element 2 is inserted between this strip and flange e5. Sufiicient clearance is allowed to permit the upper edge of the distributing element to clear the edge of flange 5 as it is slipped into place, spring members 8 then urging distributor 2 up wardly behind flange 5.

Ventilating air is supplied to the cornice duct at one or more points, the number of supply points depending upon the size of the enclosure to be ventilated and the length of the distributing ducts. The supply duct may connect with the distributing duct through wall 3 and sheet metal duct wall 8 if the source of supply is outside of the room, or, if a unit conditioner 9 located within the room is used, ventilating air may be supplied to the distributing duct by means of connecting duct l0. Since it is desirable to have the air introduced into the room in a direction substantially perpendicular to the surface of the distributor, a material having a substantial thickness is preferably used for air-distributing element 2 because of its ability to turn the rapidly flowing air in the duct and direct it into the room. If perforated sheet metal or other thin material were used, the air, after passing through the perin the same direction as the air is traveling within the distributing duct. This is undesirable because of the non-uniform distribution resulting.

It is desirable to balance the volume of air supplied to the distributing ducts against the total open area of the distributor in order to maintain an appreciable static pressure within the distributing duct whereby substantially uniform distribution of air is obtainable throughout the length of the distributing ducts. This relationship is, fully discussed in Germonprez copending application Serial No. 184,763, filed Jan uary 13, 1938. As a general rule, the velocity of air within the ducts should not exceed about 2,000 feet per minute in view of excessive noise caused by higher velocities.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated iii-Fig. 2, a triangular distributing duct system similar to that above described is used in conjunction with an air-distributing element of a different construction. 'Iwo spaced perforated sheet members II and I2 comprise the distributing element. The inner perforated sheet II is mounted angularly between sheet metal duct walls I3 and I4 by suitable means, such as the clips and screws illustrated. These clips are fastened to the duct walls by screws Iii which latter also serve to hold the entire assembly in place against the wall and ceiling of the room.

v Spacers I6 are used to hold the duct walls away from the wall and ceiling of the room as generally required by fire hazard ordinances. Perforated member II is perforated a limited amount only whereby a slight static pressure will be main tained within the distributing duct as above described. Ventilating air from the distributing duct passes through the perforations in member I I and, after the air streams have somewhat diffused in the space between members II and I2, the air is introduced into theenclosure through the perforations in the latter at uniform, relatively low velocity.

After the assembled ducts have been installed, moldings I! may be used for trimming the job and covering the dead air spacesbetw'een the ductand the walls and ceiling of the room.

The construction illustrated in Figs. 3-5 is similar to that of Fig. 2 in that the distributing element is composed of spaced, apertured sheetlike members. The sheet metal walls I8 and I9 of the triangular duct are fastened in spaced relation to the wall and ceiling 2| of the room to be ventilated by means of screws 22 and spacing clips 23. The air-distributing element is supported by the walls I8 and I9 of the duct by means of piano hinge 24 atthe lower edge of the distributor, the upper edge being fastened by means of screws 25 and clips 26. Thisdemountable arrangement is intended to provide ready access to the inside of the distributing assembly for cleaning and adjustment. v

The details of construction of the air-distributing element are shown in Figs. 4 and 5. It consists, essentially, of a sheet of muslin or similar fabric 21 and the perforated, self-supporting sheet facing 28. The latter is exposed to view from within the room and may bemade of sheet metal or a suitable hard-board material, such as tempered Masonite. The muslin is stretched on a suitable frame 29, being supported thereon by a stiff, open-mesh material, such as hardware cloth 30, and fastened by battens 3| screwed to the frame. The muslin is upstream of the hardware cloth so that sagging of the muslin due to air pressure within the duct will be resisted by the supporting material.

These air-distributing elements are conven- 'iently fabricated in panels as indicated in the plan view of Fig. 4. These panels may be arranged end-to-end to form the complete distributor. Suitable moldings, such as 32, may be provided to cover the joints between adjacent panels.

The air-distributing element of Figs. 3-5 operates to filter the air as well as to distribute it evenly into the room. The panels may be readily dropped and the filter-diffuser element 21 cleaned with a small vacuum cleaner. If desired, the fabric may be'removed, laundered and replaced. A material should be selected which is sufiiciently closely woven to cause a slight static pressure to be maintained Within the duct and which is readily cleanable. v

A further embodiment of the invention is illustrated in Figs. 6-8. A distributing element which functions as a filter as well as diffuser is again provided. Duct walls 33 having fastening flanges 34 are supported at the juncture of a wall and the ceiling of a room as above described.

The perforated facing 35 is entirely covered in the inside by imperforatechannel member 36. Units comprising the coextensive perforated facing and imperforate channel are made up in lengths of about 4 feet. the finished assembly in spaced end-to-end relation, the filter-diffuser element 31 being inserted tridge may be made up with beveled ends and between adjoining ends of the units. These filter-diffuser elements may conveniently be about 3 inches wide and include a perforated sheet facing 38 which matches perforated facing 35, a

filter cartridge 39, and a. frame 40 adapted to rev "slightly beyond the ends of perforated facing 35 so that the frame members 49 will seat upon the sides of channel 36 and the filter cartridge will overlap the ends of the channel member to thereby prevent leakage of air from the duct into space 4| past the filter cartridge 39.

The particular filter-diffuser cartridge 39 illustrated is composed of a number of superposed layers of expanded fibrous sheet material, coated with a. suitable tacky substance, as described in Walton Patent No. 2,070,073, dated February 9, 1937. Although the invention is not limited to the use of this particular material, and other materials, such as spun glass or hair, serve the purposes of the invention, it is preferred because of its high filtering efficiency and because of the advantageous diffusing effect of the multiplicity of angularly disposed deflecting surfaces of which the layers of the filter are composed. The carslipped-into frame 40 from one side. The filterdiffuser element assembly may be readily removed for the purpose of replacing the cartridge. Moldings 42 may be used to cover the joints at the edges of facing 38. It is sometimes desirable to include a layer of relatively air impervious material, such as tightly woven cloth 43 on the side of the filter cartridge adjacent the perforatedfacing 38 in order to prevent too great a flow of air into the room at this area. The air is then caused toflow through the filter into the spaces II and thence into the room'through the perforations in facing 35. A slight static pressure is maintained These units appear in in the duct by reason of the limitations of the areas between the ends of impertorate channel the hypothenuse side thereof exposed to the enmembers 3! through which the air must pass I from the duct. The result is a uniform flow through all of these openings and a well distributed, gentle flow of the air through the perforated faclngs into the room.

As stated in connection with Fig. 1, ventilating air may be supplied to the ducts of the various iorms of the invention from an air-conditioning unit located either without or within the room. The air is uniformly distributed throughout the volume of the room by means of the invention. The ducts may be arranged on one side of the room only, or may be installed on more or all sides. Also, the portions of the wall and ceiling adjacent their juncture may themselves form two walls of a triangular duct, the sheet-metal being thus dispensed with. It is obvious that numerous modifications may be made without departing from the fundamental features of the invention as embodied in the particular forms herein illus trated and described.

We claim:

In a ventilating system for an enclosure, a duct of right-triangular cross section arranged at the ceiling and wall juncture of the enclosure with closure, said hypothenus'e side of said duct comprising a'tacing panel exposed to said enclosure and having a multiplicity of apertures distributed therein, a channel member of imperforate. sheet material extending lengthwise of said duct and engaging saidfacing panel and enclosing a space between said channel and said facing panel, said channel having openings in its web portion at spaced intervals along the length of said duct, means for continuously supplying ventilating air to said duct, and a filter-diffuser cartridge arranged at said opening in said channel whereby air passing from said duct into the space between said channel and said facing panel and thence into said enclosure is caused to pass through said filter-diffuser cartridge, said facing panel having removable sections opposite said openings in said channel, each of said removable sections having a cartridge-supporting frame attached thereto including fiiter-ydiifuser cartridge retaining elements, each of said filter-diffuser cartridges reposing in one of said frames and being remov able with said removable section.

EDWARD A. SIPP. RALPH L. LEADBETTER. 

